Decades ago had a HP Vectra but was not upgradable so dumped it, can not recall the model but was a 486 based. Do wish I would have saved it but like many things back then they are long gone 😒

I have a HP Vectra VA 6/200 Pentium Pro as my Win95 build, I like it a lot. It comes with Cirrus Logic 5446 onboard graphics, managed to get a Millennium II to fulfill its potential. Plus it's the only horizontal case that I own which makes it stand out in a way.

Not sure about the USA, but they are still pretty common in Europe and not that expensive, especially the Pentium II or III based ones

I'm fond of HP PCs post merging with Compaq . They are nice little machines, I have a small collection (~15) of my own (Vectra & Kayak), all improved, working perfectly and with packages almost complete. Just some system floppies I hadn't archived on time and are not working anymore....

However, unfortunately, I have no 80286 Vectra. I'm looking for a Vectra ES/12 in my area for more than 10 years now and impossible to get one 🙁

The only real problem is that most Vetra PCs embed the video controller on the motherboard. That's not really a problem for pre P2 as they have good quality 2D video chips (S3 or CR). But for late models (P2&P3) with AGP video (Matrox G200 or G400) that cannot be deactivated that is more annoying as the only option is to add PCI video card and disabling the original card in Windows... But that's true for every OEM. I loved IBM too but that was before they have done their Aptiva line. The first gen Aptivas where re-looked PS/1, they were great. But the second gen to the end was a shame. The last one I had (1997-12) was the beautifully looking and pricy 2142 S47, but ugly on the inside. Everything inside (except maybe the sound) was so cheap and with almost no possibility for any upgrade. Less than two years later, they decided to sell the consumer division to Lenovo even with the ThinkPad line still selling well...
That was a sad time for big companies as they merged or where sold with a product quality loss on the end. But that was a great time for components manufactures such as ASUS, MSI, Antec, nVidia, etc.

I wouldn't say I'm a fan, but last year a rescued and mostly refurbished a Vectra VE . It's a nice compact PC with a Katmai-500 and an on-board Matrox G200 (or G100?). This is pretty much my only encounter with the Vectra line desktops.

Sorry for the blurry crap.

I have an HP e-Vectra/e-PC C10 Ultra Small Form Factor desktop from my childhood, I'm sure that counts since it's technically a "Vectra" (it's in its name). On December of 2005, my dad's workplace was downsizing their computer inventory, so he brought home two HP/Compaq USFF desktops (the other one was a Compaq EVO D510) for me and my brother to use, those were my first desktop PCs. In 2010, after they've been superceded by my Athlon 64 desktop, they were starting to suffer from hardware failure, so I've disassembled both computers and did foolish things to some of their parts (don't get mad at me, I was a little kid at the time).

In 2014, I've managed to acquire another e-Vectra to restore the one I parted out, so now it's in working condition again. A year later, I've obtained another Compaq EVO D510 USFF to restore my old one, so now I've got both childhood desktops restored.

The e-Vectra has an Intel Pentium III 933 MHz CPU, 256MB PC-133 SDRAM (the maximum due to it only having one RAM slot coupled with the limitation of the i810 chipset), 20GB IDE hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo drive (taken from a dead Gateway laptop since the original CD-ROM drive was dead), and integrated Intel graphics which it's unfortunately stuck with since there are no expansion slots due to it being an Ultra Small Form Factor desktop, so it's not suitable for gaming beyond 2D games, which is OK since this was intended to be an Office PC back then. It currently dual-boots Windows NT 4.0 Workstation and Windows 2000 Professional SP2.

I own two Vectra 386 RS (20 and 25) towers and some XU6/200 PPro Minitowers.
Several Kayaks are in the collection as well and of course numerous Netservers.

Realised that I haven't replaced the thermal paste on my Vectra VA 6's Pentium Pro since I got it, and it made me think of this thread. I was truly surprised to see that the thermal paste was in fact still paste and not dry powder, nearly 30 years later. Never seen that before.

Clearly HP took its time and did not skimp out on these machines, no wonder they were in offices all over at the time, they really relate to the definition of "it just works". It's the only computer that never gave me a single issue in itself since I have it.

Apparently from a certain point forward they were not upgradeable, but I surely wouldn't mind stumbling upon another upgradeable one, especially the more compact horizontal models.

I've picked up a couple of Vectras over the last year.

1. DOS/WIN95 computer
HP Vectra VL5 series 5 desktop
-Original Pentium 166mmx
-Intel i430HX chipset
-Upgraded 512kb cache (coast module)
-Upgraded 48mb ram (6x8mb edo)
-SD to IDE adapter
-On board S3 Trio64 V2 w 2MB upgrade
-Upgrade Voodoo1 4mb for 3D
-Sound Blaster 16
-Roland S-Mpu Midi w MT-32/SC-55K
Runs DOS/WIN95/WIN98 easily on Sd cards. Wide compatibility for DOS, Glide and real Midi sound.

2. WIN98
HP Vectra VL400 desktop
-Pentium 3 1000 (coppermine)
-intel i815 chipset
-384mb ram pc133 (256+128)
-40gb maxtor hd
-Upgraded Voodoo 3 3500
-Upgraded Vortex2 sound

Very solid well built machines. Great 👍 options for pre-built systems in the 90s era

The schools I went to had some Vectra VL desktops. I don't remember exactly which variant (series 4 looks like what I remember) or what CPU they used, but they were solid. They were still running Windows 95 in the early 2000s, and they were left running 24/7 for long periods of time without problems (they were obviously patched to fix the 49.7-day crash).

Yeah I had an RS/20 yearsbago. 386 tower. I found it at a tag sale? Still haven't the foggiest what a tag sale is. When I go to wallyworld and rwad the price tags, have I happened upon a tag sale? Anyway, it was stripped to the bone. Processor and memory. But no vid or drives. But oh how I loved it. I installed the first vga card I ever owned, an NSI (not MSI) as I recall. And sold it. "Too many puters!" I screamed. Also sold my Fat Mac. I used to have fun writimg zany letters to friends wit my fat mac. Couldn't even see the letters on a fat mac these days.